PHOSPHATE UTILIZATION IN PHAEOCYSTIS-POUCHETII (HAPTOPHYCEAE)

The phosphate uptake kinetics of single cells and colonies of the haptophycean alga Phaeocystis pouchetii were investigated in short- and long-term experiments. In phosphate-deprived cultures, the highest nutrient uptake rate (V(max)) of both growth forms appeared to be similar. However, the half-saturation constant for phosphate uptake of the cells embedded in a colony (K(s) = 3.08-mu-M) was considerably higher than that of the single cells (K(s) = 0.31-mu-M). This is consistent with the existence of a diffusion barrier formed by the colony membrane and colonial mucus. Over a 24 h light/dark cycle, the phosphate assimilation rate in moderately limited colonies and single cells was nearly identical during the light period. In the following dark phase, colony cells maintained this uptake rate, whereas the uptake of the single cells diminished by 70%. The high dark uptake rate in colonies ran parallel with the absorption and degradation of intracolonial carbon compounds, suggesting that the dissimilation of these compounds covers the energy requirements for phosphate uptake in the dark. In Phaeocystis cultures during a transition to phosphate depletion, a significant amount of phosphate was found in the colonial mucus, isolated by selective filtration. The possible absorption of phosphate by the mucus and the role of mucus in the energy budget seem to be an essential feature of phosphate uptake of colonies. Short-term measurement of phosphate uptake in colony cells may therefore underestimate the phosphate uptake of the whole colony.